Colorful Cactus

"Colorful Cactus"
oil pastel on paper
6" x 9"
available here

A little vibrant Southwest painting, based on photos I took in Tubac, Arizona this spring...

reference photo

This was a fun one, playing with shapes and color. Painted on Sabretooth blue paper in oil pastels. Below is the Nupastel underpainting, after an alcohol wash was applied.

Thank you for reading, stay tuned for more updates!

Bethany

Sedona Trail

"Sedona Trail"
oil pastel on paper
5" x 6.5"
$35
available here

A quick little study based on some photos I took to Arizona this Spring.  I'd like to try this one in a larger size, I couldn't get much detail in the rock formations in the distance.

Painted on UART 400 with oil pastels, using Nupastel and alcohol wash underpainting. (see below)

Stay tuned! I'm working on some cacti, too!

Bethany

Tiger - Pet Portrait

"Tiger"
oil pastel on paper
8" x 10"
commission

This sweet puppy is headed to one of my favorite clients, who will be sending it to friends in Taiwan!

Painted using oil pastels over water soluble pastels.  See progress pictures below:

I'll be catching up on the blog for the next few months, posting updates to finished commissions and new works.  I've been painting much less during my pregnancy and am getting back in the swing of things.  Trying to get more work done now that I am feeling better... lots to do before Baby Bryant comes in October!

Stay tuned, and thank you for reading!

Bethany

Day 29 - Looking Forward

"Looking Forward"
 8 x 10
 oil pastel on board
available here

This was the third garden path painting in a row, and I think my favorite!  Painted on board prepared with Golden acrylic pastel grounds.  I used a Nupastel and alcohol wash underpainting.

Stay tuned for the last pieces in my 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge, and a recap!

Bethany

Days 27 and 28 - Two Garden Paths

"Spring Light"
oil pastel on board, 10 x 10
$75

"Quiet Walk"
oil pastel on board, 6 x 6
$45

Almost through with the Challenge, up to 28 of 30 paintings! We had a warm, springlike day yesterday and I was inspired to paint some garden pieces.  I'd like to go on some trips to local gardens again this Spring.  These were painted from photos I took at the NC Botanical Gardens in Chapel Hill, NC. Both are available on my new website.

Both were painted on tan rag board primed with clear Golden pastel grounds.  I underpainted in Nupastels with an alcohol wash. I underpainted on these to fill in the grooves created by the primer. I didn't want them to be dark tan in the grooves, it would be too distracting.

Stay tuned for the final finish of my Challenge!  30 Paintings in 30 Days has been a great exercise to experiment with techniques and make me paint faster.

Thanks for reading!
Bethany

Days 25 and 26 - Mountain View I and II

Mountain View I
6 x 6, oil pastel on board

Mountain View II
6 x 6, oil pastel on board

Here are a pair of Blue Ridge pieces that stand alone (above) or as a pair (below).  Both are available here on my new website!

These were painted on rag board primed with Golden's Acrylic Pastel ground.  I used underpainting in Nupastel with an alcohol wash.  I love all of the marks that you get when you brush your own ground onto the board.

Stay tuned, I am almost caught up and finished with the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge!

Bethany

Day 24 - Marina Reflection

"Marina Reflection"
oil pastel on paper
5 x 7
click to bid here

A little study based on some pictures I took in Cape Charles, Virginia at the marina.  I loved the reflections and was finally ready to try to paint some boats!  These would work well as larger pieces, as the small detail is hard to capture in this size.

Painted on Sabretooth light blue sanded pastel paper with no underpainting.  I didn't really like this surface for such a detailed piece in this size.  It works better for simple pieces like "Sunshine" seen here.

Stay tuned, and thank you for reading!

Bethany

Day 23 - Sunshine

"Sunshine"
6 x 6
oil pastel on paper
$45
available here

This cow was enjoying the afternoon sun, hence the "Sunshine" name.   I liked the shadows and letting the blue paper color show through the oil pastel in some places.

Painted on some small pieces I have left of light blue Sabretooth sanded pastel paper.  It's not my favorite sanded pastel paper, but it is good  for some simpler pieces.  The texture of the paper tends to make it harder to get detail. I prefer to use this paper without any underpainting.

Stay tuned for more posts as I catch up with updates on the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge!

Bethany

Day 22 - Felicity

"Felicity"
oil pastel on board
 6" x 7"
available here

This sweetie was happy to see me, hence her name "Felicity."  Painted on board primed with terracotta Colourfix pastel primer.  

I'm catching up still on the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge... a few days behind still but determined to complete 30 by Feb 1st!  

Stay tuned,

Bethany

Day 21 - Making Friends

"Making Friends"
oil pastel on board, 5 x 7
$45
available here

A quick little impression of my daughter up close with a sweet Jersey girl.  This is painted on gray rag board brushed with a heavy coat of clear Colourfix primer to give the brush texture.  I'm working on getting faster and leaving more marks with the pastel.  This was done in about an hour.  On colored surfaces I tend to not use underpainting, and I think the gray worked well here.

Stay tuned!  I am almost caught up with my posts and paintings in the 30 Paintings in 30 Days project.

Bethany

Day 20 - Beach Meeting

"Beach Meeting"
oil pastel on paper
4 x 8
$45

This little one was running down the beach towards this spaniel, who was ready to play!

Painted in oil pastel over watercolor wash on Uart paper.  This photograph was taken during a trip to Emerald Isle when my daughter was just one.

reference photo

Hope this beach scene warms you during this cold week! Thanks for reading!

Bethany

Day 19 - Washington Monument in Autumn

"Washington Monument in Autumn"
oil pastel on paper
4 x 8
available here

I had to do this painting in honor of Inauguration Day.  I took this photo in October of 2011 during our visit to Washington DC.  We love visiting our good friend Jessica, and she always takes us to all of the best spots!  We took our daughter to all of the sights, and though she won't remember this trip, we will
have the pictures to remember her first visit to our Nation's Capitol!

visiting with Jessica
November 2011

Thanks for reading!

Bethany

Day 18 - Coco

"Coco"
oil pastel on paper
4" x 6"
available here

Here's a cute pup I met on vacation in Cape Charles, Virginia last summer.  He loved to pose for some pictures, and was quite a sweet boy!

Thank you for reading!
Bethany

Day 17 - Brunch with the Girls

"Brunch with the Girls"
pastel on board
5 x 7
available here

This was an amusing photo that I took in Charlestown, New Hampshire last summer.  Our second cousin in Vermont goes to a 4-H group called the Charlestown Dairy Club, and they were sweet enough to take me there to take pictures early one Saturday morning.  This is where all of my Holstein photos came from!

reference photo
(note I took out the right cow to keep an odd number)

This was challenging in such a small size. But it was a good study for perhaps a larger piece, maybe 6 x 12 or 8 x 16.  I only used Nupastels on Pastelbord.  I was planning on doing a wash with alcohol and then using oil pastel, but I got carried away with detail and didn't want to wash away the Nupastel. So this is the second piece in the series that is solely Nupastel.  Do I see a trend forming?

I need to get another set of Nupastels soon.   I only have the 24 color set that I have had since college.  I'd love the 48 or 96 piece sets, going to keep my eyes peeled on eBay or for any good sales!

Also have been working on a new website...going to migrate my blog back to bethanybryant.blogspot.com and have a cleaner "gallery" site at bethanybryantart.com.  Check out what I have so far here: bethanybryant.weebly.com.

Stay tuned!
Bethany

Day 16 - Bluebell

"Bluebell"
oil pastel on paper
4" x 4"
available here

Day 16...still catching up on blog posts, and now I am a day behind with the paintings!  I worked at my "day job" all day yesterday, cleaned house (for the babysitter!), and stayed out late having dinner and drinks with friends.

Yikes, better get in gear today and pour another cup of coffee.

Happy Sunday!

Bethany

Day 15 - Oreo

"Oreo"
oil pastel on paper
4" x 4"
available here

This cow has a partner on a blue background, will post day 16 later today!

Oil pastel on pink Sabretooth pastel paper in a mini-size, only 4" x 4".

Stay tuned!

Bethany

Day 14 - Cool Cow

"Cool Cow"
pastel on board
5" x 7"
available here

Day 14 of 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge.  I couldn't resist the title, "Cool Cow" but I considered naming her "Fannie."  She was staying cool in front of the fan in the barn, a girl after my own heart!

Painted on Pastelbord in Nupastels.  A change from my usual oil pastels, I was doing the underpainting in Nupastel and couldn't bear to apply the alcohol and see her washed away!  I may do some more soft pastels in the future, I just know that it will lead to more art supply purchases!  You never can have too many oil pastels, and my soft pastel supply is limited.  

Stay tuned for more catch up posts...I am finished with Day 16 already and will be finishing Day 17 today (Friday).  Stay tuned!

Bethany

Day 13 - Sunlit Path

"Sunlit Path"
oil pastel on board
8" x 10"
available here

Catching up on posting these finished paintings...I'm current with the paintings, just haven't had time to blog them (today is day 16).  I'm posting twice a day until I catch up!

This was another cabin from the Daniel Boone Native Gardens in Boone, NC.  

Thanks for reading!

Bethany

Day 12 - Evening Light

"Evening Light"
oil pastel on paper
6" x 10"
available here

A marsh painting based on my photographs from the Eastern Shore of Virginia last summer. Painted in oil pastels on Uart with Nupastel and alcohol wash underpainting.

Nupastel underpainting before applying the alcohol

I did a similar piece to this one here.

Stay tuned for Day 12...almost halfway through the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge!

Thanks for reading!

Bethany

Day 11 - Cow Lick

"Cow Lick"
oil pastel on board
5" x 7"
available here

Day 11 - Another cow!  I think I could go a whole year with cow paintings.  This was painted on gray Pastelbord with no underpainting.

Stay tuned to see what's next!

Bethany

Day 10 - Camille

"Camille"
oil pastel on board
5" x 7"
available here

Day 10, back to more cows!  This little calf was only one day old when we visited Billings Farm last summer in Woodstock, Vermont.

reference photo
Billings Farm, Vermont

It was hard to get a picture inside the barn stall, but I just had to paint this sweet little one.  I named her "Camille," meaning "innocent"in Latin.

Thanks for reading!
Bethany

Day 9 - Sunlit Afternoon II

"Sunlit Afternoon II"
oil pastel on board
8" x 10"
available here

This is the companion piece to Day 8 yesterday, "Sunlit Afternoon".  Both are of an old home in Windsor, Vermont.

reference photo

Tomorrow I think I will stick with Vermont and do another dairy cow.  Stay tuned, and thanks for reading!

Bethany

Day 8 - Sunlit Afternoon

"Sunlit Afternoon"
oil pastel on board
8"x 10"
available here

I took many pictures of the light hitting this old home along Main Street though Windsor, Vermont.  It was across the street from the Constitution House along Route 12.  I started another piece tonight of the same house from a different angle, and will finish it on Day 9!

reference photo
Windsor, VT

I tried out Golden's Pastel Ground on some gold metallic rice paper matboard.  The metallic quality of the matboard was lost under the ground, but I liked the texture overall.  

Stay tuned for this piece's companion tomorrow!  Thanks for reading,

Bethany

Day 7 - Wandering in the Garden

"Wandering in the Garden"
oil pastel on paper
8" x 10"
available here

Day 7 features another Boone painting based on our 2012 trip, which included the Daniel Boone Native Gardens.

I could keep working on this, adding more detail, but I wanted to keep it fresh and retain each stroke.  I love the oil pastel over watercolor on the Uart sanded papers.  

Going to get back to some more Vermont pictures for the next few days, stay tuned!

Bethany

Day 6 - Blue Ridge Summer

"Blue Ridge Summer"
oil pastel on gatorboard
10" x 10"
available here

A view of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Blowing Rock, NC.  A beautiful summer morning before afternoon showers rolled through.  There was actually a golf course in the valley.

I had a time with this one and may come back to it after the oil pastel dries out a bit.  I haven't worked much with terracotta underpainting lately, and I am finding I need to use a different technique than with the watercolor underneath.  The oil pastel built up too much and I had a hard time laying down more layers without getting too muddy.  For me, working quickly in oil pastel requires underpainting in local colors. This allows me to use the watercolor to lay down the foundation beneath the OP and not get too heavy with my application.

Stay tuned for more tomorrow! Thanks for reading,
Bethany

Day 5 - Squire Boone Cabin

"Squire Boone Cabin"
oil pastel on board
8" x 10"
buy using Paypal here

Day 5 brings me from Vermont (subjects of days 1-4) to Boone, NC!  Last summer we visited the Daniel Boone Native Garden in Boone, NC.  

source

 SQUIRE BOONE CABIN

"This cabin was situated in the Gardens to honor the father of Daniel Boone - Squire Boone. It serves as an educational representation of frontier living in the years following the Revolutionary War. Beyond the cabin, along a path leading back up to the north side of the allee is a meditation maze of ferns and hemlock. Its center point is a statue of St. Francis of Assisi.

In 1992 the reflecting pool and surrounding area was re-planted as a bog garden. Today there is a small bridge across the bog garden that leads to the Squire Boone Cabin."

-Daniel Boone Gardens site 

This was painted on Gatorboard with Colourfix primer in Terracotta.  I used Neocolor II water soluble pastels as underpainting.  This painting reminded two paintings from last year, both from the UNC Botanical Gardens in Chapel Hill, NC:  Paul Green Cabin in Chapel Hill, NC and Garden Path.

Thank you for reading!  Stay tuned for another Boone painting tomorrow.

Bethany

  

Day 4 - Misty Morning

"Misty Morning"
oil pastel on board
5" x 7"
buy here

Day 4 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge is done!  I took the photo for this painting last summer in Charlestown, New Hampshire at a dairy farm.  It was early morning and the trees and field were misty and fog covered.

reference photo
Charlestown, NH

Painted with Sennelier oil pastels on white Ampersand Pastelbord, using watercolor underpainting.  Stay tuned, I'm thinking of maybe another cow tomorrow?

Thanks for reading!
Bethany

Day 3 - Playing Bashful

"Playing Bashful"
oil pastel on paper
8" x 8"
available here

Another view of Maggie from Day 1.  I think she was looking shy or a little bit coy in this photograph!

This time I underpainted using Neocolor II water soluble pastels, creating a vibrant wash under the oil pastel. I find that I get a brighter, more opaque color using the Neocolor versus regular watercolors.

Stay tuned later today for Day 4!  Thanks for reading,

Bethany

Day 2- Vermont Meadow

"Vermont Meadow"oil pastel on board
5"x 7"
available at Daily Paintworks

A quick study in oil pastel based on photos I took this summer in Vermont.  This is a view outside of Woodstock, Vermont.  Sunny summer days like this one in Vermont make me want to pack up and move up to the beautiful "Green Mountain State."

reference image

This is for day 2 of the 30 in 30 project I talked about yesterday.  Today I kept my time to under one hour by keeping it small and loose.  Painted in mostly Sennelier oil pastels on Ampersand Pastelbord. I used a white board and underpainted with watercolors yesterday when I was doing the underpainting for "Maggie."  For me the key for a successful challeng will be to plan ahead, underpaint several boards at once, and have all of my photos and boards/papers ready to go.  

Stay tuned, and thank you for reading!

Bethany

Day 1- Maggie

"Maggie"
oil pastel on paper
8" x 8"
purchase here

Today is the kick off of Leslie Byrd Saeta's 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge.  See all of the submissions for Day One here... there are 250 artists signed up!  I will be focusing on small works, mostly completed within 2 hours.  There will be plenty of cows, houses, and landscapes from my travels in 2012.

I'll be posting daily, so stay tuned!  You can see them all over on my Facebook page, too.

Thanks for reading!
Bethany